Birthplace of Ali ibn Abi Talib

Ali ibn Abi Talib (ca 599-661 CE) was a prominent figure in early Islamic history. He had been taken into his cousin Muhammad's household as a child, and was one of the first converts to Islam when he was only ten years old. Later, he married Muhammad's daughter Fatima Zahra and fathered Muhammad's two grandsons. He was one of Muhammad's trusted lieutenants.

Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali was the rightful successor to Muhammad, and the first of the Shi'a imams whom the Shi'a believe to be the divinely ordained spiritual leaders of humankind.

The Shi'a believe that in keeping with Ali's divine mission, he was born in the Kaaba, the cubical structure that is the focus of a Muslim's daily prayers and the holiest structure in Islam. The Kaaba is said to have cracked open so that Fatima bint Asad, Ali's mother, could enter, then closed behind her. She emerged after three days bearing her miraculous child. She was greeted by Muhammad, who took the child from her arms and kissed him. The infant Ali had not taken any milk, so his first taste of liquid was the saliva upon Muhammad's lips. He is said to have been immediately adopted by Muhammad.

According to one Shi'a website, Shi'a Muslims who perform the umrah or hajj pilgrimages must pay special devotions to the corner of the Kaaba that cracked open for Ali's mother. This corner is called the "mustajar".

Sources

There is no mention of any such event in the earliest Islamic histories, the works of Ibn Ishaq, Tabari, Waqidi, and Ibn Sa'd. Nor do any of the collections of oral traditions (hadith) accepted by Sunni Muslims mention this event. Shi'a websites that list sources include the following, which seem to be the earliest sources for the narration:

* the Mustadrak of Hakim al-Nishaburi, said to have been composed after 1002 CE
* a large history of the world written by Masudi, who died in 956 CE

Sunni views

Sunni scholars regard the Mustadrak as an unreliable hadith collection. [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/companion/01_ali_bin_talib.htm#Birth%20of%20Ali] .

Some Sunni scholars credit a tradition found in Sahih Muslim, which states that Hakim ibn Hizam, a rich Meccan convert to Islam, was born in the Kaaba.

: A hadith like this has been transmitted on the authority of Hakim b. Hizam (Imam Muslim) said: Hakim b. Hizam was born inside the Ka'ba and lived for one hundred and twenty years. (Sahih Muslim, Book 10, Number 3662) [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/010.smt.html#010.3662]

This claim is advanced at one Sunni website, [http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/profile_story.asp?service_id=1142] , where it is pointedly stated that Hakim ibn Hizam was the only person ever to be born in the Kaaba.

Academic views

None of the major academic sources for early Islamic history mention this tradition, even to refute it.

External links

Shi'a

* [http://www.basma.us/site/true_islam/kaaba/yemeni_corner_of_kaaba.php Ali's Birth in the Kaaba]
* [http://www.al-islam.org/kaaba14/4.htm Another version of the story]